ment of his people, and penetrated into the interior of the country, where, by courtesy and liberality to the tribes whom he found well-disposed, and vigorous retribution of the hostil ity of such as were otherwise minded, he succeeded in procuring a plentiful stock of provisions.

15. In the midst of his successes, he was surprised during an expedition by a band of hostile savages, who, having made him prisoner, after a gallant and nearly successful defense, prepared to inflict on him the usual fate of their captives. His genius and presence of mind did not desert him in this trying emergency'. He desired to speak with the sachem or chief of the tribe to which he was a prisoner; and presenting him with a mariner's compass, expatiated' on the wonderful discoveries to which this little instrument had contributed,-descanted' on the shape of the earth, the extent of its lands and oceans, the course of the sun, the varieties of nations, and the singularity of their relative terrestrial positions, which made some of them antipodes to the others. With equal prudence and magnanimity, he refrained from any expression of solicitude for his life, which would have infallibly weakened or counteracted the effect which he studied to produce.

16. The savages listened to him with amazement and admiration. They had handled the compass, and, viewing with surprise the play of the needle, which they plainly saw, but found it impossible to touch, from the intervention" of the glass, were prepared by this marvellous object for the reception of those sublime and interesting communications by which their captive endeavored to gain an ascendency over their minds.

17. For an hour after he had finished his discourse, they remained undecided; till, their accustomed sentiments reviving, they resumed their suspended purpose, and, having bound him to a tree, prepared to dispatch him with their arrows. But a deeper impression had been made on their chief; and his soul, enlarged for a season by the admission of knowledge, or subdued by the influence of wonder, revolted from the dominion of habitual barbarity. This chief bore the harsh and uncouth appellation of Opechancanough,—a name which the subsequent

history of the province was to invest with no small terror and celebrity.

18. Holding up the compass in his hand, he gave the signal of reprieve; and Smith, though still guarded as a prisoner, was conducted to a dwelling, where he was kindly treated and plentifully entertained. But the strongest impressions pass away, while the influence of habit remains. After vainly attempting to prevail on their captive to betray the English colony into their hands, the Indians referred his fate to Powhatan, the emperor or principal sachem of the country, to whose presence they conducted him in triumphal procession.

19. This prince received him with much ceremony, ordered a plentiful repast to be set before him, and then adjudged him to suffer death by having his head laid on a stone and beaten to pieces with clubs. At the place appointed for his execution, Smith was again rescued from impending destruction by the interposition of Pocahontas, the favorite daughter of the king, who, finding her first entreaties in deprecation of the captive's fate disregarded, threw her arms around him, and passionately declared her determination to save him or die with him. Her generous humanity prevailed on the cruelty of her tribe; and, the king not only gave Smith his life, but soon after sent him back to Jamestown, where the beneficence of Pocahontas continued to follow him with supplies of provisions, that delivered the colonists from famine.*

20. After an absence of seven weeks, Smith returned to Jamestown, barely in time to prevent the desertion of the colony. His associates, reduced to the number of thirty-eight, impatient of further stay in a country where they had met with so many discouragements, and in which they seemed fated to re-enact the disasters of Roanoke, were preparing to abandon the settlement; and it was not without the utmost difficulty, and alternately employing persuasion, remonstrance, and even

Recent researches have resulted in throwing very great discredit upon this romantic story of Pocahontas; and it is now generally viewed as a highly exaggerated statement of what really oc curred, for while Smith related the story of his adventures soon after his return to England, it was some years before he mentioned this incident at all.

violent interference, that Smith prevailed on them to relinquish their design.

21. The provisions that Pocahontas sent him relieved their present wants; his account of the plenty he had witnessed among the Indians renewed their hopes; and he endeavored, by a diligent improvement of the favorable impressions he had made on the savages, and by a judicious regulation of the intercourse between them and the colonists, to promote a coalition of interests and a reciprocation of advantages between the two races of people. His generous efforts were successful; he preserved a steady and sufficient supply of food to the English, and extended his influence and consideration with the Indians, who began to respect and consult their former captive as a superior being.-Colonial History of the United States.

[Pocahontas was subsequently married to John Rolfe, a young Englishman, and three years afterward accompanied her husband to England, where she was an object of general interest and attention, and was presented at court. While about to return to her native land, she suddenly died (March, 1617), leaving a son, from whom are descended some well-known families in Virginia. The marriage of Pocahontas proved of great importance to the colonies, since it had the effect of establishing a lasting peace with Powhatan, as well as with the powerful tribe of the Chickahominies. These peaceful relations were undisturbed until the death of Powhatan, in 1622.]

Pocahontas.-Hemans.

[The following lines are a part of a poem, by Mrs. Hemans, entitled the "American Forest Girl," upon the subject of Smith's singular escape from the doom pronounced by the savage chief, in accordance with the statement made by himself some years after his return to England.]

She had sat gazing on the victim long,

Until the pity of her soul grew strong;

And, by its passion's deepening fervor swayed,
Even to the stake she rushed, and gently laid
His bright head on her bosom, and around

His form her slender arms to shield it wound

Like close Liannes; * then raised her glistening eye
And clear-toned voice, that said, "He shall not die !"
"He shall not die!"—the gloomy forest thrilled

* Liannes (le-an'), or Lin'nas, is a term applied by the French colonists to the climbing and twining plants which abound in tropical forests.

To that sweet sound. A sudden wonder fell

On the fierce throng: and heart and hand were stilled,
Struck down as by the whisper of a spell.

They gazed; their dark souls bowed before the maid,
She of the dancing step in wood and glade!
And, as her cheek flushed through its olive hue,
As her black tresses to the night-wind flew,
Something o'ermastered them from that young mien-
Something of heaven in silence felt and seen;
And seeming, to their child-like faith, a token
That the Great Spirit by her voice had spoken.

They loosed the bonds that held their captive's breath;
From his pale lips they took the cup of death;

They quenched the brand beneath the cypress tree;

Away," they cried, "young stranger, thou art free !"

Virginia under the Second Charter.-The London Company, not having realized their expectations of profit from the Jamestown colony, sought and obtained a second charter, in 1609, and conferred upon Lord Delaware, a nobleman distinguished for his virtues, the appointment of governor for life. Three commissioners, Newport, Gates, and Somers (sum'erz), who had been appointed to administer the affairs of the colony till the arrival of Delaware, were dispatched to America with a fleet of nine vessels, and more than five hundred emigrants. While on the passage a severe storm dispersed the fleet. One of the vessels (that bearing the commissioners) was wrecked on the Ber-mu'da Islands, and another foundered; the others reached the James River in safety. Considering that no person had yet arrived who was entitled to supersede him, Smith maintained his position as president, until, having been severely injured by an explosion of gunpowder, he returned to England for surgical aid.

No sooner had Smith fairly departed than the colonists gave themselves up to idleness and vice. The Indians became hostile, the horrors of famine ensued, and in less than six months not more than sixty of the five hundred persons whom he had left in the colony remained. This period, extending over the first half of 1610, was long remembered as the "starving time."

In consequence of their destitution and gloomy prospects, the colonists determined to seek safety among the English fishermen at Newfoundland. In four vessels they embarked; but, just as they were drawing near the mouth of the river, Lord Delaware appeared with emigrants and supplies, and persuaded them to return. The new administration was a wise one, and under it the colony prospered. In consequence, however, of ill health, Delaware was soon compelled to return to England. He was succeeded in office by Sir Thomas Gates. Third Charter.-New settlements were made in the vicinity of Jamestown; and, notwithstanding the strictness of the laws, the colony continued

to prosper. With a view to greater privileges, the London Company obtained their third charter, in 1612. A remarkable feature of the new charter allowed the Company to hold meetings for the transaction of business, thus giving to that body a democratic form of government.

Dissolution of the Company.-The affairs of the colony caused frequent meetings of the London Company, which were largely attended. The freedom of speech manifested on such occasions displeased the king, James I., and, under the pretext that the disasters to the colony were the result of bad government, he dissolved the Company. Thus Virginia became, in 1624, a royal province.

The Cultivation and Use of Tobacco.-Campbell.

1. In 1615, twelve different commodities had been shipped from Virginia; sassafras and tobacco were now (1624) the only exports. During the year 1619, the company in England imported twenty thousand pounds of tobacco, the entire crop of the preceding year. James I. endeavored to draw a "prerogative" revenue from what he termed a pernicious' weed, and against which he had published his "Counterblast;" but he was restrained from this illegal measure by a resolution of the House of Commons. In 1607, he sent a letter forbidding the use of tobacco at St. Mary's College, Cambridge.

2. Smoking was the first mode of using tobacco in England; and when Sir Walter Raleigh first introduced the custom among people of fashion, in order to escape observation he smoked privately in his house (at Islington), the remains of which were till of late years to be seen, as an inn, long known as the Pied Bull. This was the first house in England in which it was smoked, and Raleigh had his arms emblazoned there, with a tobacco-plant on the top.

3. There existed also another tradition' in the Parish of St. Matthew, Friday-street, London, that Raleigh was accustomed to sit smoking at the door in company with Sir Hugh Middleton. Sir Walter's guests were entertained with pipes, a mug of ale, and a nutmeg; and on these occasions he made use of his tobacco-box, which was of cylindrical form, seven inches in diameter and thirteen inches long; the outside of gilt leather, and within a receiver of glass or metal, which held about a pound of tobacco. A kind of collar connected the receiver